by Tana Stone
Brok had never been so happy to hear his first officer’s voice before. “Copy that.”
He let out a breath. This was going to be a tough one to explain to High Command. Not only had he violated first-contact rules, he’d inadvertently exterminated a good portion of the city’s population. Well, actually Madeleine had done that by throwing a device Serge gave her into the water. He cocked his head to one side and spun around.
Serge and Madeleine were both strapped into the bench seats that faced each other behind the cockpit, eyes wide as the ship powered higher into the air and they left the gleaming, stone city below.
“You want to tell me how you managed to be at the arena?” He pinned his gaze on Serge. “And how you happened to have a device that electrified the entire pool?”
Madeleine spun her head to the Gatazoid, as well. “Actually, that’s a great question. I left you here to contact Inferno Force.”
The wedding planner’s roots flushed pink. “Which I did, thank you very much. That’s how I knew that you two were in that insane water arena and in serious trouble.”
Brok wrinkled his brow. “Explain.”
Serge let out an impatient breath. “When I contacted Inferno Force to let them know what was happening, they told me what they’d learned about Spartos, and why you two were going to be in serious danger.”
Madeleine swiped a dripping strand of hair off her face. “You mean because the natives turn into terrifying mer-monsters?”
Serge gave her a withering look. “They were more eloquent than that, but yes. One of the officers on the ship had unearthed some dark rumors about the Spartosians. He determined that some kind of lunar alignment was imminent, and suspected that the stories were true.”
“Vekron,” Brok muttered.
Serge snapped his fingers. “Vekron. That’s the officer’s name. He was very helpful, by the way. He’s the one who had your ship use its sensors to locate the arena with the pool beneath the retractable floor, and he was the one who guided me to adapt the remote ship control to emit an electrical pulse strong enough to zap anything in a pool that large.”
Brok’s chest swelled with pride. Once again, his Inferno Force crew had come through for him.
“You really should give that boy a promotion,” Serge said.
Brok turned his attention to Madeleine. “That doesn’t explain why you were in the arena, or why you jumped into the water with those bloodthirsty creatures.”
Madeleine folded her arms over her chest. “I think the better question is how such a tough warrior is such a lousy swimmer. If I hadn’t dragged your ass out of there, you’d be at the bottom of that pool.”
Brok’s face warmed. “Swimming is not something that comes up very often during space battles, and there are very few pools on battleships.”
“Still.” Madeleine shook her head. “I am definitely giving you swimming lessons.”
As much as he wanted to keep the severe look on his face, he couldn’t stifle the grin as he thought about Madeleine teaching him to swim.
“I hope for both your sakes it goes better than it did for Commander Dorn,” Serge mumbled. “His bride almost drowned him in their fantasy suite.”
“Don’t worry,” Madeleine said. “I have no intention of drowning anyone in a fantasy suite, or of living in one.”
Serge rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”
Brok swung back around to face his console, the reminder that Madeleine was still a tribute bride hitting him like a punch to his gut. They might have just barely escaped from Spartos, but his mission wasn’t over. Nor was his inner turmoil.
Chapter Thirty
Maddie walked off the ramp of the shuttle onto the floor of the hangar bay and gazed around the space. It was about as different from the sleek Boat as she could have imagined— lots of exposed piping and steel instead of shiny, white surfaces. The wide bay was lined with fighter planes with curved wings and more compact shuttlecraft—all gunmetal-gray. The scent of burning oil and sweat filled the air, along with the sounds of gruff voices and the clattering of metal against metal.
“So, this is Inferno Force,” she said under her breath, taking in the battleship.
Brok caught her eye and gave her a crooked smile, the pride obvious on his face. “This is Inferno Force.”
Two Drexians strode toward them in dark cargo pants and snug T-shirts stretched across massive muscles. One had his brown hair tied up in a man bun, and the other had shaggy hair brushed back behind his ears. Both thumped their fists to their chests when they reached Brok.
“Captain.” The warrior with shorter hair inclined his head slightly.
Maddie recognized the voice as the one that had come onto the comms system as they were escaping from Spartos.
“Kalex.” Brok returned the salute. “Thanks for the well-timed save.”
Kalex inclined his head slightly.
“And Vekron.” Brok pivoted to face the other Drexian. “I hear I have you to thank for taking out the Spartosians.”
Serge cleared his throat loudly.
“With on-surface help from our Gatazoid friend,” Brok added, nodding at Serge, who preened and smiled.
“I’m just glad we got you out of there.” Vekron rubbed the back of his neck. “Spartos is not what it seems, nor what they’d like others to think it is.”
“That is an understatement,” Brok said. “At least we now know why they’re so secretive. I hope you’ve prepared a report to send to High Command and to our allies.”
Vekron’s mouth quirked into a smile. “Just waiting for your approval to send, sir.”
“We haven’t alerted High Command to the diplomatic situation yet.” Kalex clasped his hands behind him and rocked back on his heels.
“You mean the murder of their royal family, and a good portion of their city’s population?” Brok asked, letting out a weary breath.
Kalex dropped his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“If you ask me, they deserved it,” Maddie said, causing all eyes to swivel toward her. “Not only did they buy Serge and me, they tried to use your captain as human fish food. I’ll be happy to testify in front of anyone you want me to that those aliens were vicious and twisted, and deserved what they got. Besides, I’m the one who threw that device into the water, so technically, I killed them all. If they need a scapegoat, they can punish me. Brok did nothing but risk his life to save me and Serge, and almost paid the ultimate price for his bravery. And he did it all with me being a serious pain in the ass and not following any of his orders.”
She was breathing heavily when she stopped and realized that her voice had risen to a near shout and everyone on the hangar deck was staring. The two officers shifted their gaze from her to the captain and back again.
“She’s right about one thing,” Brok finally said. “She does not follow orders well.”
“Preach,” Serge muttered under his breath.
Maddie’s mouth dropped open, although she couldn’t help laughing. “Traitors. This is the thanks I get for refusing to leave either of you behind?”
“At least the tribute bride is back safely in Drexian hands,” Kalex said. “High Command will be grateful for that. Hopefully grateful enough to overlook our diplomatic indiscretions.”
Maddie held up a finger. “About that tribute bride thing. I’m not doing it.”
Serge sucked in a sharp breath. “After all this? After everything I’ve done for you?” He staggered into Vekron, who caught him, mid-swoon. “This day is going from bad to worse.”
“You wish to reject a Drexian match?” Kalex bit his lip and a crease formed between his eyes. “That is your right, but we still must return you to the Boat.”
“I don’t want to reject a Drexian match.” She turned to face Brok. “I just want to say who I want.”
He met her eyes, cocking his head at her.
“And I want your captain.”
If she’d thought the hangar deck had been quiet before, it went silent
then. She couldn’t even hear breathing as she stared into Brok’s piercing, blue eyes.
He didn’t move a muscle. “You are sure, Madeleine? I thought--”
“I know. I was stupid before. And scared. But the thought of losing you was worse than anything,” she told him. “Don’t you know I’ve fallen for you, you bossy Drexian?” She watched as his pupils darkened. “I’ve never been more sure about anything or anyone. Now are you going to kiss me, or what?”
He crossed to her in a single step and swept her into his arms. “You drive me crazy.”
“Admit it. You love me driving you crazy.”
He smiled wickedly before he crushed his mouth to hers. She felt the jolt all the way to her toes, as he lifted her off the ground, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. One hand went to her waist then tangled in her wet hair and finally cupped her face.
When at last he tore himself away from her, she could feel the eyes riveted to them. Serge had straightened up and was smiling smugly, while the officers were gaping, open-mouthed.
Serge rubbed his hands together. “It looks like I get to plan a wedding, after all.”
Maddie rolled her eyes as her cheeks flushed. “Who says we’re getting married?”
“I say.” Brok’s voice was a dark purr as he locked eyes on her. “I want a bonding ceremony, so everyone will know that you’re my mate, including you.”
A thrill went through her, and she gave him an arch smile. “So bossy.”
Epilogue
Brok peered at the view screen of the Inferno Force battleship. “Report.”
“We’ve cleared the Boat.” One of his officers twisted at his post at the standing console. “Laying in a course for the outskirts.”
“Good.” Brok scanned the Inferno Force bridge crew and exhaled. He would be glad to get back to patrolling space for Kronock incursions, and he suspected they felt the same way.
It wasn’t that their time on the Boat had been bad. Many of his warriors had enjoyed the manufactured setting of the sleek space station, sampling the replicas of human coffeshops and cafés, and even spending time on the officer holodecks. They’d been charmed by the sight of so many human females, and he was aware that several of his crew had added their name to the tribute bride waiting list.
He scraped a hand through his hair, his gaze fixed on the black expanse of space as they moved away from the space station, banking sharply to fly around it. The Drexians had done an impressive job of repairing the station after the Kronock attack, and there were scant signs that it had ever been damaged. The structure was all glass and curves designed to look like a giant double-helix, and it almost sparkled in contrast to the green surface of Saturn’s moon behind it. As beautiful as it was, he would not miss it. His Inferno Force battleship was home, and always would be, especially now that Madeleine was onboard with him.
It had taken several meetings and an intense appearance before the High Command to convince them to allow a human—and a former tribute bride—to live aboard an Inferno Force battleship. It had finally been High Commander Dorn who had convinced the elder members that they should not be separated. The one provision had been that they have a bonding ceremony—a requirement that pleased both him and Serge.
Brok thought about Madeleine in her slip of a wedding dress as she’d walked down the aisle toward him, with Serge proudly serving as “Gatazoid of Honor” and holding her bouquet as he sniffled through the ceremony. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything more beautiful than she’d been that day, and he’d never been as happy as when she’d agreed to be his mate for life. The wedding reception had been a blur—planned with virtual carte blanche by a delighted Serge—but he did remember fireworks going off right before he and Madeleine had snuck off to the fantasy honeymoon suite.
Although his mate had threatened to request one of the overwater suites so she could force him to learn to swim, he’d been thrilled to find that their suite was instead located on something called the African savannah. When he hadn’t been in bed with Madeleine, he’d been captivated by the animals that meandered outside their terrace. The three days in the suite had been as much of a blur as the wedding, but he knew he’d never forget how happy he’d been.
“Sir?” Kalex’s voice snapped him out of his mental wanderings.
He blinked a few times at his first officer. Grek. He had no idea what the warrior had asked him. “Come again?”
Kalex’s mouth quirked up slightly on one side. “I asked if you would like to switch from impulse power?”
“Yes.” Brok cleared his voice. “Engage thrusters.”
“Captain.” Vekron spun from his post at the security console. “I suggest we jump to our final destination.”
Brok tilted his head at the warrior. “You know better than anyone that will drain our energy and weaken our weapons’ firepower.”
Vekron grinned. “Not anymore, it won’t. I tinkered with the technology and came up with a tweak that should keep power levels steady.”
Brok gave the warrior a wide smile. “Then let her rip.”
“Preparing the jump,” Kalex said, starting the countdown. “Oh, and Captain? Your presence is requested in the medical bay.”
A few officers shot him quick, knowing grins, but he ignored them. “An emergency?”
Kalex shook his head. “No, sir. Apparently, you are the only Drexian who has not gotten their medical clearance for our new mission.”
Brok shook his head, but spun on his heel, giving a final glance at Kalex “Fine. You have the bridge.”
He took long strides off the bridge and down the dimly lit corridors, his boots echoing off the steel floors. The last thing he needed was a medical assessment, especially since he’d gotten a full workup when he’d been on the Boat, courtesy of a rather snarky AI. But his new medical officer had been adamant that every member of his Inferno Force crew be cleared for duty.
“This is why I didn’t replace the last medical officer for so long,” he grumbled to himself. Medical officers were overly cautious with their patients, and this one was no exception.
Waving a hand over a panel outside a set of double doors, he stomped into the medical bay. “What’s this about me needing medical clearance?”
“I thought that would get your attention.” Madeleine smiled as she approached him in a white, buttoned-up lab coat.
He grunted as he saw that her legs and feet were bare. “You do not need to call me down for an exam to get my attention.”
“No?” She put a hand on his chest when she reached him. “You’ve been pretty busy since we got on the ship.”
He flinched. He had been distracted by preparations for their deployment to the outskirts. “I apologize.” He gazed down at her, his heart beating faster. “Have I neglected you, mate?”
She shrugged and walked her fingers up his chest. “It’s okay. I’ve been busy learning all the Drexian medical technology and rearranging the sick bay so I can find things.”
“You will be amazing.” He circled an arm around her waist.
“I just hope I don’t disappoint the guy who got me the job. He’s a bit of a hard-ass.”
A low chuckle escaped his lips. “Oh, really?”
She nodded, smiling up at him, her eyes flashing heat as she unbuttoned the top buttons of her lab coat and he saw that she was completely naked underneath.
Brok’s cock stiffened, and he backed her up until she bumped against the examination table. “If you think my ass is hard…”
She gasped as he pressed his swollen cock against her, and her eyes widened. “It’s a good thing you came down here, Captain. I’m detecting an elevated heart rate.”
“Have I mentioned how much you drive me crazy? Or how much I love you driving me crazy?” He tore her lab coat open, the buttons scattering across the floor, and hoisted her onto the table.
She moaned as he ran his hands down her naked body then spread her legs. “Not lately, Captain.”
Jerking his ow
n pants down, he groaned as she took his cock in one hand and looked up at him, licking her lower lip seductively.
He tightened his grip on her ass. “You think my heart rate is elevated now…?”
Thank you for reading Maddie and Brok’s story! Want to read about some sexy alien barbarians until the next Tribute Brides book? You’ll love BOUNTY, the first book in Tana Stone’s Barbarians of the Sand Planet series.
After crash-landing in an unfamiliar desert, human Danica is rescued by gorgeous, telepathic alien K’alvek. And while he vows to help her bounty hunter crew escape the hostile planet, he can’t subdue his burning desire to claim his new charge.
One-click BOUNTY Now>
“This was excellent! I could not put it down. The world building is amazing and the characters are likable and as always Tana knows how to make it super steamy.”-Amazon Reviewer
This book has been edited and proofed, but typos are like little gremlins that like to sneak in when we’re not looking. If you spot a typo, please report it to: [email protected]
Thank you!!
Preview of BOUNTY—Barbarians of the Sand Planet #1
Below is a sample of another Tana Stone sci-fi-romance series—this one with alien barbarians and female bounty hunters!
Chapter One
“Are they shooting at us?" Danica asked, grabbing the edge of a smooth, metal console as she stepped onto the bridge and the ship heaved to one side. She tasted blood as she bit the inside of her mouth, and flinched from the pain. Son of a bitch.
She and Bexli had just brought their latest captive onboard, and she’d given the order to take off, hoping the rival bounty hunters who'd also been in pursuit hadn't seen them. From the staccato sounds of gunfire, she guessed that her plan of slipping out unnoticed was shot to hell.
She took in the familiar sight of the compact bridge—a round, flat panel console in the center of the room with view screens suspended above it, smaller individual consoles forming a half moon around the main one, and a final ring of screened consoles against the circular walls. A long, narrow slit of a window gave them a view out the front of the ship, but had a steel shade they could lower for security. Nearly every part of the room was composed of metal that was long past gleaming, and looked nearly black with age and grime. Wires spilled from underneath most of the consoles, a result of various hacks and patches to keep the aging space ship running. Danica inhaled the scent of burning fuel that seemed to permeate the ship, and felt a rush of affection for the bucket of bolts she'd practically grown up on.
